Firefighters rescue elderly man from burning apartment

Firefighters carried an elderly man to safety after a blaze broke out in his La Mesa apartment Thursday, a fire captain said.

At about 6:45 p.m., someone reported seeing black smoke seeping from under the door of a one-bedroom apartment in a complex on La Mesita Place off 73rd Street, south of El Cajon Boulevard.

Crews found a fire in the living room of the first-floor apartment, Heartland Fire & Rescue Department Capt. Sonny Saghera said.

Firefighters found a man in his 70s stuck in the bedroom. A previous medical condition had left him unable to walk, Saghera said. Rescuers carried him to an ambulance, and he was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

The man lives with his wife, who was not home at the time of the fire, Saghera said.

Crews doused the flames in about five minutes. The fire left about $100,000 in damage to the apartment and its contents. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.